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SMOKING AND RISK BEHAVIOURS IN AUSTRALIA, 2007–08

Tobacco smoking is one of the more prominent lifestyle behaviours contributing to increased health risks in Australia, with 19% of adults smoking daily. Where people have a cluster of risk behaviours, such as a combination of excessive alcohol intake, smoking and low exercise, their risk of ill-health increases.

ABOUT THE INFORMATION...

The article draws on data from the 2007–08 ABS National Health Survey (NHS) and the 2010 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) General Record of Incidence of Mortality (GRIM) Books. The analysis is for people aged 18 years and over, unless stated otherwise.

Current smokers are those who reported smoking tobacco in the form of cigarettes, cigars or pipes at the time of interview. Current daily smokers are those who reported regularly smoking one or more cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day. An irregular smoker is someone who smokes less than once per day.

Ex-smokers are those who reported they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes, or smoked cigars or pipes at least 20 times, in their lifetime but did not currently smoke.

People who had 'ever smoked' are those who were either current or ex-smokers.

OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY

People who were ex-smokers were more likely to be overweight or obese than people who currently smoked or had never smoked. This was particularly the case for men.

1.1 Overweight and obesity rates by smoker status and sex, 2007–08

Males

Females

Persons

Current daily smoker

60%

57%

59%

Irregular smoker

59%

49%

55%

Ex-smoker

76%

59%

69%

Never smoked

65%

52%

57%

Source: National Health Survey, 2007–08

EXERCISE

Around half of men who were daily smokers led a sedentary lifestyle, doing very little or no exercise (53% compared with 36% of ex-smokers and 34% of men who had never smoked).

Women who were daily smokers also led the most sedentary lives, with 52% doing very little or no exercise compared with 34% of ex-smokers and 40% of women who had never smoked.

NUTRITION

While very few people consumed the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables, current daily smokers were even less likely to do so, at 2% compared with 8% of ex-smokers and 7% of people who had never smoked.

ALCOHOL

In general, daily smokers were more than three times as likely to drink at risky or high risk levels (24%) as people who had never smoked (7%).

Young men aged under 25 years who smoked daily were more than 6 times as likely to drink at risky or high risk levels (45%) as young men who had never smoked (7%).

For young women of the same age this difference was less extreme but still high, with 25% of daily smokers drinking at risky or high risk levels compared with 10% of those who had never smoked.